Nadler: Repeal of Affordable Care Act Would Be Catastrophic for American People and U.S. Economy

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the Republican effort to deny 32 million Americans health care, to deny millions of middle class Americans the ability to get health care insurance if they have preexisting conditions and to drive up our national debt by an additional $1.4 trillion over the next 20 years.

The Affordable Care Act will stave off the 55 percent of personal bankruptcies caused by health care emergencies. By banning rescissions, banning the preexisting conditions insurance bar, banning annual and lifetime coverage caps and capping annual out-of-pocket expenses, this law ensures that nobody will go broke because they get sick.

The bill will save the lives of the approximately 45,000 Americans who now die every year because they lack health insurance. For America's seniors, the Affordable Care Act strengthens the Medicare program. Seniors will no longer pay out of pocket for preventive services; and the cruel doughnut hole, which forces seniors to choose between taking their drugs or going without, will be closed.

And owners of small businesses will get billions of dollars in tax credits to help them provide health coverage to their employees--unless, of course, the Republicans are successful in enacting a tax increase on small businesses by repealing the law.

We did all this and more while reducing the deficit by what CBO now estimates will be $230 billion in the first 10 years and $1.2 trillion in the next 10 years.

The Republicans say the bill is an unprecedented or unconstitutional expansion of constitutional power. They are wrong. There is nothing radical, dangerous, or unconstitutional about the act. We have the power to enact this comprehensive plan, including its minimum coverage requirement under the commerce, necessary and proper, and general welfare clauses of article 1, section 8 of the Constitution. Similar attacks were levied against the Social Security Act of 1935, saying it was unconstitutional for the same reasons. Those arguments were unsound and rejected then and will fare no better today.

Indeed, leading Republican lawmakers championed individual mandates as part of their Health Equity

and Access Reform Today Act of 1993 introduced by Senator Dole and Senator Chafee. The requirement of individual participation was valid then, and it is valid now.

For all of these reasons, I strongly encourage my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this misguided repeal bill.

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Mr. Speaker, following is my statement in its entirety:

I rise in opposition to the Republican effort to deny 32 million Americans health care, to deny millions of middle-class Americans the ability to get health care insurance if they have pre-existing conditions, and to drive up our national debt by an additional $1.4 trillion over the next 20 years.

Last March, I had the distinct pleasure and honor of voting for the Affordable Care Act, which achieves many of the goals I have been fighting for my entire adult life.

The Affordable Care Act will stave off the 55 percent of personal bankruptcies caused by health care emergencies. By banning rescissions, banning the ``pre-existing conditions'' insurance bar, banning annual and lifetime coverage caps, and capping annual out-of-pocket expenses, this law ensures that nobody will go broke because they get sick.

When fully implemented more than 32 million additional Americans will have access to health care coverage. This translates into saving the lives of the 45,000 Americans, who now die every year because they lack health insurance.

In addition, the Affordable Care Act extends greater rights and benefits to women. No longer can insurance companies discriminate against women by charging women higher rates than men for the same coverage. No longer will women be denied coverage because insurance companies consider pregnancy, C-sections, and being the victim of domestic violence to be pre-existing conditions. No longer will women go without critical maternity care coverage, access to mammograms, and other key preventive care services--services that will be available without co-pays and deductibles. Ending these routine, disgraceful, and patently unfair practices are a tremendous victory for women and children.

For America's seniors, the Affordable Care Act strengthens the Medicare program. Seniors will no longer pay out of pocket for preventive services, and the cruel donut hole, which forces seniors to choose between taking their drugs or going without, will be closed. And by cracking down on fraud and waste, the Act ensures that those who seek to take advantage of our seniors and steal from the Medicare program will no longer have a free ride.

The Affordable Care Act also benefits America's young people. Often without the option of employer-based health insurance, young people now can stay on their parents' health plans until their 26th birthday.

And owners of small businesses will get billions of dollars in tax credits to help them provide health coverage to their employees--unless, of course, the Republicans are successful in enacting a massive tax increase on small businesses by repealing this law.

We did all this and more while reducing the deficit by what CBO now estimates will be $230 billion in the first ten years, and $1.2 trillion in the next ten years.

Mr. Speaker, when our predecessors passed similarly historic laws such as Social Security in 1935 and Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, they knew the measures would require further consideration. In the years since those crucially important programs were signed into law, Congress has made, and will continue to make, improvements to those programs. And that is the key--to make improvements to the law. Instead of spending our time looking for ways to build on and perfect the health care reform law, Republicans want to take a sledgehammer to it, to throw out everything, without any consideration at all. No matter that our economy still needs our attention. No matter that millions of Americans remain out of work.

The Republicans say the bill is an unprecedented or unconstitutional expansion of Congressional power. They are wrong. There is nothing radical, dangerous, or unconstitutional about the Act, through which Congress is regulating the vast interstate health and insurance markets in a number of ways that protect the American people. We have the power to enact this comprehensive plan, including its minimum coverage requirement, under the Commerce, Necessary and Proper, and General Welfare clauses of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. Similar attacks were levied against the Social Security Act of 1935. They were unsound and rejected then and will fare no better today.

We require citizens to participate in programs--like Medicare and Social Security--when necessary to accomplish an objective wholly within Congressional powers, and there simply is nothing so surprising or severe in requiring similar participation--by requiring that those who can obtain insurance do so or pay a tax penalty--in our comprehensive framework for health care reform. Indeed, leading Republican lawmakers championed individual mandates as part of their Health Equity and Access Reform Today Act of 1993. The requirement of individual participation was valid then, and it is valid now.

For all of these reasons, I strongly encourage my colleagues to vote NO on this misguided repeal bill, and instead, to say ``yes'' to guaranteeing health care for 32 million more Americans. To say yes to enabling millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions to obtain health insurance. To say yes to ending gender rating and rescissions. To say yes to allowing parents to cover their adult children on their health care plans. To say yes to strengthening Medicare for our seniors. To say yes to growing our economy by supporting small businesses. To say yes to reducing our deficit.

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